Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

A classic American dessert - pineapple upside down cake is a buttery rich moist cake with brown sugar, caramelized pineapple slices topped with cherries and served upside down. Traditionally, canned pineapple slices are used as topping, I used fresh ones instead. The cake turned out great, very happy with the taste and texture. It is best served warm from the oven.

Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking, without stirring, for a few more minutes or until bubbles just start to appear around the outside edges of the mixture (the sugar starts to caramelize). Then remove from heat, and pour into the cake pan.

Arrange the fresh pineapple slices on top of the sugar mixture. Decorate with cherries.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well. Add the flour mixture, alternately with the milk ending with the dry ingredients.

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar just until the whites hold a firm peak. If you dont have cream of tartar, just beat the egg whites with a whisk until firm peak forms. With a large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two additions. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan (a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the pineapple) will come out clean). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate. Tastes best when served warm.